Politics: Onward from New Hampshire

[Hank Chinaski]

Kerry beats Edwards...... barely. Maybe there's a race still. Who's more likely to pick up the lunatic Dean/Sharpton fringe, Kerry or Edwards?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111629,00.html

[Secret_Agent_Man]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Confidential to Ann Coulter: Why are you a hateful bitch? {Spree: venomous harpy disparages war record of Silver Star-winning triple-amputee Vietnam vet, saying he "didn't give his limbs for his country or leave them on the battlefield"}.

This is truly horrendous, but not far from the norm for Ms. Coulter. I guess that some will say she was just going for the shock value, which makes it ok.

Perhaps she is bitter because one of her compadres, Mr. Rush Limbaugh -- was unable to serve in the Army during the Vietnam era due to his "anal cysts". [:riceless!::] Check out the link, folks. That's even better than Tom Delay saying that there just wasn't enough room in the Army for patriotic folks like him.

S_A_M

[Secret_Agent_Man]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Kerry beats Edwards...... barely. Maybe there's a race still. Who's more likely to pick up the lunatic Dean/Sharpton fringe, Kerry or Edwards?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111629,00.html

If I were a GOP'er, I'd almost worry more about Edwards. He has real charisma and a great personal touch on the stump. He has not nearly enough of a record of public service to provide the sort of fodder for attack ads as does Kerry. [But -- almost as much public service as Bush pre-election.] Also [confidential to BB] most ordinary people don't hate "trial lawyers" the way that products liability defense counsel do.

He's also smart enough not to try to tear up Kerry in primaries the way that Dean would like to.

His trade policy is a real problem for me -- but I could easily swallow that pill in exchange for victory in November.

S_A_M

[Not Me]

Originally posted by Secret_Agent_Man
Also [confidential to BB] most ordinary people don't hate "trial lawyers" the way that products liability defense counsel do.

It depends on what his cases were about. If they were all legitimate cases, it probaby won't hurt him with those predisposed to vote for him.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Secret_Agent_Man
Also [confidential to BB] most ordinary people don't hate "trial lawyers" the way that products liability defense counsel do.
S_A_M

bilmore is products defense? I had the sense he was in-house?

[The Larry Davis Experience]

Originally posted by Secret_Agent_Man
If I were a GOP'er, I'd almost worry more about Edwards. He has real charisma and a great personal touch on the stump. He has not nearly enough of a record of public service to provide the sort of fodder for attack ads as does Kerry. [But -- almost as much public service as Bush pre-election.] Also [confidential to BB] most ordinary people don't hate "trial lawyers" the way that products liability defense counsel do.

He's also smart enough not to try to tear up Kerry in primaries the way that Dean would like to.

His trade policy is a real problem for me -- but I could easily swallow that pill in exchange for victory in November.

S_A_M

Yeah, I've been leaning more towards Edwards every time I see him (or Kerry) speak. The guy just seems to get it when it comes to campaigning and putting forward a message that resonates with his audience.

The media is presenting Kerry as "the guy with the best chance of beating Bush" without much discussion of what else he's got going for him. Don't get me wrong, I'd vote for Kerry over Bush in a heartbeat, but Kerry feels to me like the choice of a party who suddenly realizes after three years of getting its ass kicked that it has a chance in this election and doesn't want to "screw up" the nomination. It's all very Mike Martz-esque, for those of you who follow the NFL.

If Edwards can win a few states at Super Tuesday, the following week has four southern primaries, so maybe he can still make some noise. However, the fact that he is refusing to go negative on Kerry makes this a win-win situation for the Dems: free coverage of their campaigns and their issues for as long as the primaries remain competitive...

[Sparky_Stonecroft]

From the New York Times :

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Feb. 17 — Shiite leaders are pushing a new plan for the transfer of power in Iraq that calls for partial elections, with balloting in the relatively secure Shiite and Kurdish areas but not in the more turbulent "Sunni triangle."

Let's just hope Rove and company don't see this and decide that we should allow balloting "in the relatively secure suburban and rural areas but not in the more turbulent 'inner cities.'"

But, after all, isn't that what the Republicans effectively accomplished in Florida with the purge from the voting rolls of 70,000-plus voters who happened to be black and appeared to have the same name and birthday of convicted felons?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Sparky_Stonecroft
But, after all, isn't that what the Republicans effectively accomplished in Florida with the purge from the voting rolls of 70,000-plus voters who happened to be black and appeared to have the same name and birthday of convicted felons?

Curses. Finally found out! Yes we did this. the most amazing part of our "white out" is that it was accomplished under a Fla. Supreme Court as biased towards a party (Democratic) as any Court in memory, and further with a government workforce having a significant black %. It was diabolical how we pulled it off, diabolical! HAAAA HA HAAAA

[Hank Chinaski]

Dean may quit!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111751,00.html

The most interesting theory that I've heard so far - which is nothing more than a theory, it can't be proved - is that he was warned ahead of time by the Saudis. Now, who knows what the real situation is?

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by Secret_Agent_Man
If I were a GOP'er, I'd almost worry more about Edwards.
S_A_M

I may be the only one, but I'd much rather run against Edwards. The gravitas factor tilts dramatically in Bush's favor, especially on national security issues, and Edwards class warfare approach is a known historical loser.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by sgtclub
I may be the only one, but I'd much rather run against Edwards.

Now, having lost the "left wing of the democratic party" candidate from the process, I'm almost certain that Nader will throw his consumer-friendly hat into the ring. (It has padded edges, and an airbag inside of it. Well, until he throws it, at least.) I think he would have stayed away had Dean stayed in, but he'll now argue that true liberals are no longer represented by the two major parties.

I give him two weeks to announce.

(And, yes, Coulter was way past acceptability.)

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by bilmore
Now, having lost the "left wing of the democratic party" candidate from the process, I'm almost certain that Nader will throw his consumer-friendly hat into the ring. (It has padded edges, and an airbag inside of it. Well, until he throws it, at least.) I think he would have stayed away had Dean stayed in, but he'll now argue that true liberals are no longer represented by the two major parties.

I give him two weeks to announce.

I wonder if Nader will still resonate with the 2-3% of the nationwide vote he received in 2000, or if instead those folks are still recovering from the bruises that the rest of the Democratic party gave them, and they decide that fixing the crumpled hat and broken campaign button resulting from the assault isn't worth the trouble.

(While it's an interesting question, I'd rather not find out.)

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Gattigap
I wonder if Nader will still resonate with the 2-3% of the nationwide vote he received in 2000, or if instead those folks are still recovering from the bruises that the rest of the Democratic party gave them, and they decide that fixing the crumpled hat and broken campaign button resulting from the assault isn't worth the trouble.

(While it's an interesting question, I'd rather not find out.)

I hope the liberals stick to their true beliefs and vote for Nader; if you believe you should stand by those beliefs. But you may be right, he may draw a much smaller number.
Pat Buchanan got a much lower percentage of the vote last time. I don't know if his highest number in prior elections would have been enough to keep/kick ole Bubba out, but it certainly didn't help. By 2000 buchanan's vote was mostly elderly Jews.

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by sgtclub
I may be the only one, but I'd much rather run against Edwards. The gravitas factor tilts dramatically in Bush's favor, especially on national security issues, and Edwards class warfare approach is a known historical loser.

In a literal sense you're right, but Edwards' "class warfare approach" is the most optimistic variation on this theme I've ever seen. Most populists are so angry that the eyes bulge, face turns red, and they blurt our screams of "yeaaggghhhhh!" after crushing losses. It would be interesting to see how a happy warrior would do.

Agree with you on the gravitas factor, though.

And, S_A_M, I agree with you on the trade policy positions. They trouble me too, though I'd imagine you could soften the edges over the course of the campaign.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
I hope the liberals stick to their true beliefs and vote for Nader

I'm going to be selling these at the Fair this year: